Why and how does gender wage inequality persist?: perceptions of stakeholders in the Australian industrial relations system

This thesis explores how and why gender wage inequality persisted in Australia during the period 1990 to 2003. A review of the wage data indicated that Australian inequality persisted during this period and even increased in Western Australia. An analysis of the literature and published tribunal decisions showed that the focus of action relating to gender wage equality was on the formal industrial relations system, through legislation and tribunal decisions. As the literature also indicated that these measures had failed to assist many female-dominated occupations, it was felt useful to examine the views of key stakeholders in the formal industrial relations system. Given the mainly quantitative and aggregate data analysis of previous empirical literature and the theoretical literature’s growing focus on less quantifiable social factors, it was felt that qualitative research would add to the analysis of gender wage determination. This thesis uses in-depth interviews with stakeholders in the federal and Western Australian industrial relations systems to examine the period 1990 to 2003. Their perceptions and observations are triangulated with published wage data from selected occupations.